Not to be confused with Tate Haulage, a company formed by Christopher Tate in January 1999.
Frank Tate & Son Ltd (also known as Frank Tate Haulage Contractor) was a Haulage company set up by Frank Tate in the 1960s with an old Thames Trader lorry.
By the 1980s, the business had expanded significantly so around 1987, Frank decided to retire and subsequently his son Christopher became Managing Director and took over the day to day running of the company.
In February 1990, a jealous Christopher sacked George Starkey after he gave Kathy Merrick a lift to Southampton in his lorry after being told not to. George appealed to Frank to get his job back, but when that didn't work, George tried to blackmail his way back into a job by bringing up the circumstances surrounding the death of Frank's late wife, Jean. George's threats had the opposite effect when an infuriated Frank ordered Christopher to never give George his job back. Frank also refused to provide George with a reference, so George got his own back by spreading rumours about Jean's death and graffitiing "WHO KILLED JEAN TATE?" on the side of a Frank Tate & Son Ltd lorry.
In January 1991, Frank returned to Frank Tate & Son Ltd after growing restless and struggling to get other ventures off the ground. The following month, Frank Tate & Sons biggest client, Kelthwaite Engineering went bust owing the company over £100,000. This was disastrous as not only did Kelthwaite Engineering account for around 60% of Frank Tate & Sons' business, but Christopher had bought three specialist rigs specifically to service the Kelthwaite Engineering contract at a cost of around £250,000 that were now almost useless.
Frank and Christopher had to give up the office and yard to keep the business afloat.
To keep the business afloat, Frank and Christopher took drastic action. They laid off all their drivers, cut down their fleet of lorries to just six rigs, and decided to use contract drivers instead of having full time employees to reduce costs such as tax and national insurance. They also got rid of their office and yard on Canal Road in Skipdale and moved the business to Home Farm with Frank's wife Kim helping with the administrative duties.
Over the following months, Frank and Christopher worked tirelessly to get the business back on track but they hit a major setback in June 1991 when they received a demand for £30,000 from Inland Revenue for failing to deduct income tax from their contract drivers' pay. With all their cash tied up, and knowing the business would go under if they didn't find the money, Frank came up with a radical solution - they hijack one of their own lorries and claim on the insurance. Christopher hated the idea but Frank went ahead and arranged it anyway. Frank later called the hijack off and Kim gave him the money to cover the tax bill after selling her prized horse. The issue looked to be resolved, but a few days later Christopher's lorry was hijacked as the message to call off the hijack hadn't got through to the hijackers. A furious Christopher blamed Frank for his injuries and feared the damage the hijacking could do to the company's reputation as a safe carrier.
Frank Tate and Son in a Frank Tate & Son Ltd lorry
Christopher's fears proved to be unfounded when Arthur Bright, the owner of the biggest engineering firm in Yorkshire, gave Frank Tate & Sons Ltd a large contract which got the company back on track. As a result, Frank decided to step back from the company again to focus on his plans for developing Home Farm Estate. A part of Frank's plans was to stop running the haulage company out of the living room at Home Farm so he found the company a new yard and office which they move into in November 1991.
In December 1991, Frank Tate & Son began transporting horses and ponies from Hotten Market to the abattoir. Neither Frank's wife, Kim, nor Christopher's wife, Kathy, were happy about the contract as they worked with horses. Kim was especially worried about the impact it could have on her livery business if the news became public knowledge. When vindictive local councillor Charlie Aindow heard about the contract, he tipped off the Hotten Courier about it in a bid to get revenge on the Tates. Reporter Tony Trafford was keen to run the story but Frank managed to get the story curtailed when he reminded the higher ups at the Hotten Courier of all the advertising business he puts their way.
In July 1992, a driver tipped Christopher off that a fellow driver named Tony Jarvis was using Frank Tate & Sons lorries to smuggle drugs from the Netherlands into the UK. Frank reminded Christopher that legally they should go to the police but Christopher refused as it would mean their lorries would be routinely stopped by customs at every port and the delays would bankrupt the company. Instead, Christopher sacked Jarvis so the problem was no longer his. A few weeks later, Christopher heard through the grapevine that Jarvis was now working for Smiths Haulage, a rival haulage company, so he and Frank decided to report Jarvis' drug smuggling to the police knowing it would now be Smith's lorries that would be stopped at every port and Frank Tate and Sons would be quids in. Within the week, Smith's Haulage's biggest client called Christopher to inquire about transferring all their business to them.
Frank and Kim's marriage fell apart in December 1992 when Frank caught her cheating on him with Neil Kincaid. Over the following months, Frank turned to alcohol and his businesses suffered as a result. Things came to a head in April 1993 when Frank lost Frank Tate & Son a lucrative contract after he smashed a headlight on a potential client's car whilst driving drunk. A few days later, Kim approached Christopher and proposed that they, as minority shareholders in Frank Tate & Son, remove Frank as chairman of the company; if Christopher went along with her plan, she would back him as Frank's replacement, but if he didn't agree, she will propose the bank appoints a neutral administrator. Christopher decided to stay loyal to his father and didn't back Kim's minority shareholders action but Frank was furious when he realised Christopher knew about it and didn't warn him.
Shortly afterward, Christopher suggested to Kim that he buy her 20% share of the company. Kim agreed, but she wasn't convinced Christopher would be able to raise the £250,000 her shares would cost. By mortgaging Mill Cottage and calling in all his debts, Christopher was able to raise £150,000 which he gave to Kim via a bankers draft and in return Kim made over half of her shares to him with the rest to follow when Christopher raised the rest of the money.
Unaware of Kim and Christopher's deal, Frank decided to sell Frank Tate and Son in June 1993 to raise capital to expand Home Farm Holiday Village and pay Kim's divorce settlement. This infuriated Christopher but he went ahead and bought Kim's remaining shares anyway. This gave both Frank and Christopher a 40% share of the company with Frank's daughter Zoe holding the other 20%.
Frank soon had a change of heart and stopped the the sale of the haulage company as he didn't want to jeopardize his relationship with Christopher. However, when Frank learned Christopher had bought Kim's shares behind his back and that his son had also called an Extraordinary General Meeting to put down a motion of no confidence in his role as chairman, he changed his mind once again and went ahead with the sale. The sale was finalised on 17th September 1993.
In October 1993, Christopher decided to set up his own one-man haulage company after getting a loan from Frank to buy a second-hand lorry. Christopher hoped to build his new business up like Frank did, however the venture was short lived as Christopher was left wheelchair bound following the Plane Crash in December 1993. In January 1999, Christopher again got back into the haulage business when he launched a new haulage company named Tate Haulage.
Staff[]
Former Staff[]
- Frank Tate - Owner (1960s-c.1987, 1991-1993)
- Christopher Tate - Managing Director (c.1987-1993)
- Kim Tate - Secretary (?-?, 1991)
- Sharon - Secretary (until 1991)
- Rachel Hughes - Receptionist (1990-1991)
- George Starkey - Driver (until 1990)
- Jackie Merrick - Driver (1989)